DEVIL'S ISLAND featuring Civil Villains
Welcome to this weeks edition of Devil's Island! Every week we maroon a band or artist on the island and see what they get up to, how they cope with being all alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. It's not your average desert island and we'll see just how each person copes with the extreme conditions.
This week when we arrived at Devil's Island we find Civil Villains sat on the beach. The island is far from their home, so how did they end up here and how did they cope with life on Devil's Island?
Find out now...
Welcome to The Razors'e Edge and our somewhat lovely, warm desert island. Don't worry about it's name I'm sure it's not as bad as that would suggest.
You're marooned here on this island, but before you ended up shipwrecked you chose one album that you couldn't live without. Which album did you each chose and why?
Toby: The Led Zeppelin collection issued in 1990, on vinyl. With 6 LPs, that’s a whole lotta building material to make an immediate shelter with. Also I could sharpen the edge of one of the vinyls and use it for hunting.
Mark: Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf, as it has a song for all the emotions.
James: Tom Waits - Mule Variations. Unparalleled songwriting and all the best waits-isms in one place.
Just behind that palm tree is a shack for each of you to stay in, with enough space for you to put up a poster on the wall of one album cover. What album cover do you each chose?
Toby: Well this mysterious shack appearing has made a mockery of my Led Zep shelter, but it’s probably more watertight, so okay I’ll use it. And on the wall I would hang a poster of Reuben’s Very Fast Very Dangerous. The album slays - that’s a given - but more importantly the front cover depicts a truck, which I could start constructing from the flotsam and jetsam of the shipwreck, combined with some natural island materials. I’m thinking a bamboo chassis with coconut wheels, that kind of thing. Once that’s built, I’ll set about converting it into one of those aqua vehicles that’s a boat too. I’m all about the long game.
Mark: Klaxons - Surfing The Void. Because who doesn’t love a cat in a space suit.
James: Phil Collins - No Jacket Required. So I feel safe at night.
There's also a bar on this here island. But alas each of you only get to choose one drink for the entirety of your stay. What's your tipple of choice?
Toby: Diesel, to fuel my AquaTruck.
Mark: Old Fashioned
James: Whiskey Sour (with a maraschino cherry)
Your suitcases were lost when your ship sank, but you each managed to salvage one item of band merch. What’s the merch and for what band?
Toby: I’d grab the stack of Civil Villains business cards we thought it would be a good idea to print a few years back, and use them as currency to establish some sort of island economy. Once I’ve got my AquaTruck up and running I would introduce neighbouring islands into our economy, and slowly but surely establish us as a real player on the global market.
Mark: Civil Villains ‘Oh Deer Lord’ t-shirt. Because no publicity is bad publicity.
James: Kiss have merchandised everything, right? So, I’ll save whatever they’ve licensed their name to that’s most seaworthy - maybe one of their custom made coffins.
You’re sat on the island thinking “I’m stuck here on this island with my bandmates for eternity”… who would you rather have been shipwrecked with?
Toby: It might not technically count as a “who”, but I’d go for the All Spark from Transformers. That way AquaTruck can come to life and fly us all out of there; or just hang, whatever’s cool, no pressure.
Mark: Tom Hanks, not only is he in a movie about being shipwrecked which could come in handy, he also seems like a good guy.
James: Ben Fogle, he’s obviously a resourceful bloke and a proven rower - essential if we ever were to fashion some sort of escape vessel.
There's a walkman in your pocket, on the tape inside is the recording of the one live show that stands out for you. It could be any show, from any band, anywhere in the world. What show is on that walkman?
Toby: A recording of a demolition derby. I would use this as a punishment to help train my now sentient AquaTruck to do my bidding, or else he gets the tape…
Mark: Any Clash show, as I would have loved to have seen them.
James: Johnny Cash, Live at Folsom Prison
You're getting desperate, you decide the only course of action is to put a message in a bottle and hope someone finds it. Your message could be to any member of any band, but should be the most suitable for a rescue attempt. Who is it?
Toby: I’ve got a sentient AquaTruck, I don’t need this message in a bottle nonsense to get me off the island, so I would send a message to James and Mark, letting them know I can help them escape, and ask them how many Island Business Cards it’s worth to them.
Mark: Sting. Obviously.
James: Rick Astley, as he’d not be likely to run around and desert me.
You've been stuck here for a while and food supplies are running low. There's only one thing for it... which fellow band member gets sacrificed to help the others survive?
Toby: I think I’d slip and fall, so the others could beat me and have a taste.
Mark: I think I’d taste the best, so I’d take the fall.
James: I think Mark would taste the best, so he’d take the fall.
Finally, when the ship sank you each managed to save one person from the wreckage. That person is the one musician that has influenced your career the most, shaped your way of thinking and your outlook on life. Who did you save?
Toby: Jay Z. He’s not just a musician, he’s a businessman (or as he’d say, “I’m a business, man!”) and so I think he’d be the guy to really get this burgeoning economy off the ground. The Island Business Card bubble is going to be a biggie, invest early and get out in time!
Mark: Weird Al Yankovic
James: One half of Jedward
